


The Angel that Redeems Me

by MagnetoTheMagnificent



Series: Summer Omens [7]
Category: Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst and Tragedy, Apocalypse, Bittersweet Ending, Character Death, Crowley is Bad at Being a Demon (Good Omens), Crowley is Good With Kids (Good Omens), Implied/Referenced Torture, Lonely Crowley (Good Omens), Major Character Injury, Nanny Crowley (Good Omens), Stars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:00:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25687735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagnetoTheMagnificent/pseuds/MagnetoTheMagnificent
Summary: Alternate Universe where Warlock is the Antichrist, and Crowley raises him alone.Written for @thetunewillcome 's Summer Omens prompt 'Firefly.'This is going to be a very sad AU, with a bittersweet ending. It can be happy ending, if you see it that way
Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens), Crowley & Warlock Dowling
Series: Summer Omens [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1845238
Comments: 4
Kudos: 27





	1. Chapter 1

"Nanny?" Warlock asked one night when Crowley was putting him to bed. 

"Yes dear?"

"Can you tell me a story?"

Crowley softened, and smiled at the boy. 

"Come," she instructed, gathering him into her arms and taking him to the windowsill. 

Warlock's eyes followed Crowley's hand as she pointed to the brightest light in the sky.

"What's that, Nanny?" he asked.

"That's Aziraphale," Crowley answered softly.

"What's an Aziraphale?"

Crowley chuckled lightly.

"Not what. _Who,_ " she corrected. 

"Oh"

"Aziraphale is an angel, dear, that's why he shines so bright."

"An angel?"

"Yes. The best angel there is."

"So what's he doing all the way up there?"

Crowley bit her lip.

"He loves the Earth so much that he looks down on it all the time," she explained gently. 

"Can he see us?"

"Yes. He's watching you, and me, and he loves you so much," she told him, her eyes becoming moist.

"How do you know?"

"Because, dear, I love him," Crowley said, her voice cracking.

"When the time comes to meet your destiny, Warlock, Aziraphale and I will be with you."


	2. Chapter 2

Six years later, the time came for Warlock to meet his destiny as the Antichrist, and bring about the Apocalypse. If there was one thing the demon Crowley had taught him, it was to defy orders, and so he very firmly told the Four Horsemen to leave. 

"You're stupid, Famine. How can people commit the sin of Gluttony if you won't let them eat?" he told the lean, brooding Horseperson. 

The spirit of Famine fizzled into nothing when he realized that Warlock was right. 

"And you, Pollution. How can people have Vanity and Envy if you dirty everything?" 

Pollution melted into a puddle of tar upon hearing Warlock's logic.

"War! Don't you know that humans can't have Lust if they're too busy fighting?" 

The scarlet Horseperson burst into flames, Warlock's argument burning down their purpose. 

"And Death," Warlock said cooly, "do you really, honestly think anyone can sin if they're dead? Fuck off!"

And with a flap of his ebony wings, Azrael was gone. 

Crowley turned to his godson. 

"Warlock. You did it," he told him, pulling him into a hug. 

"Is it over?" Warlock asked.

Crowley gripped Warlock's shoulders.

"It isn't over yet. Soon enough they'll come for me, and there'll be Hell to pay," he said seriously, trying to be brave. 

"What're we going to do?" he demanded, his voice beginning to rise in volume.

"I- I don't know, Warlock. We'll think of something," Crowley admitted shakily. 

" _We_?" the Antichrist echoed angrily.

"Aziraphale and I. We'll think of something. He'd never let you come to harm."

Warlock stiffened in anger and fear.

"How can you be so optimistic about the end of the fucking world?!" 

Crowley flinched at Warlock's words.

"Aziraphale is nothing but a star, Nanny," he shouted, "a big ball, of hot air, a million miles from here!" 

"Open your eyes, now. Before you get hurt," he said coldly, brown eyes glaring at the exasperated demon. 

Crowley clenched his fists and looked heavenward.

"He doesn't know what he's saying, angel. He doesn't mean it," he insisted, tears welling up. 

Before Warlock could respond, a grotesque, furious demon, Lord Beezlebub, Prince of Hell, rose from the ground in a pillar of acrid smoke. His rotting face glared at the renegade demon and the Antichrist.

"L-Lord Beelzebub," Crowley greeted nervously, bowing.

"Crowley, the traitor," Beelzebub sneered.

"That's not a nice word,"

"All the other words I have are worse. Where's the boy?" the prince demanded.

"You're not going near him, Beelzebub," Crowley announced, standing in front of Warlock.

Beelzebub chuckled evilly.

"Crawly," he taunted, "you know what we'll do to you if you disobey."

Crowley gritted his teeth. Nothing else mattered if Warlock was in danger. 

"I don't care. I'm not taking orders from you anymore," he told him resolutely.

He made his choice.

"So be it," Beezlebub cackled, picking up the sword War had dropped. 

Red, insect eyes glimmered in glee as the weapon burst into flames.

"Nanny, wait!" Warlock shouted. 

**Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Beelzebub plunged the sword into Crowley's chest, and disappeared.**

Crowley crumpled to the ground as the smoke dissipated, serpentine eyes wide in shock. 

"Nanny!" Warlock cried, kneeling by Crowley's side.

The ground began to shake.

"Nanny, what's happening?" the boy sobbed, tears falling down his cheeks. 

"He called your father," Crowley answered sadly, and then gasped as a wave of pain washed over him.

"Nanny, please don't go. I can't face him alone," Warlock begged, grasping Crowley's hand.

"You're never alone, Warlock. Aziraphale and I are so very proud of you. You're everything we dreamed you'd be, and more. You're beautifully and wickedly human," he told Warlock as his breaths grew shallower.

"Nanny, please, please don't leave me!" 

Crowley's grip on Warlock's hand grew limp, and Warlock hung his head in despair. 


	3. Chapter 3

"My rebellious son,"

Warlock turned to see Satan, the devil himself, standing behind him.

"You! This is all your fault!" Warlock seethed, scrambling to his feet. 

" _My_ fault? My son, you wound me," Satan smirked, waving his hand. 

Crowley's cold body disappeared, and Warlock's face hardened in anger. 

"What did you do?" he asked.

Satan just shook his head, and suddenly Warlock found himself surrounded by legions of adoring crowds. He was wearing a crown, dressed in royal robes. 

"Isn't this what you always wanted? Wanted to be more than just the son of a diplomat, wanted to be your own person?" Satan questioned, circling the boy like prey. 

"This isn't real," Warlock insisted. 

"But it's the truth."

And then Warlock was watching a memory of his childhood. 

It was when Crowley helped him heal an injured bird. It was one of his fondest memories. Crowley had been so gentle with the bird, and Warlock kept the bird in his room until it recovered. He had named it Harry, and Crowley had comforted him when it was time for the bird to go home.

But the vision turned dark as Satan showed him the consequences Crowley had to endure for that act of kindness.

_"Empathy? Healing? What were you thinking, Crowley?" Beelzebub laughed._

_"He really has gone native, hasn't he, flash bastard," Hastur agreed._

_"I- I'm sorry, your Lordship. It won't happen again," Crowley pleaded, weighed down by his chains._

_"I think he needs a little reminder of whose side he's on," Ligur suggested as Crowley was forced to his feet._

_"No! Please! I'm sorry!"_

"Your world did this to him, my son. You can bring him back, make a new world" Satan whispered.

Warlock glared at the King of Hell. Drawing on an inner spark, he spoke.

"It's not my world, it's yours. And yeah, Crowley may not have been the perfect demon, or the perfect person. He may not have had a future, or a purpose, or a side, but he had something better."

He approached the Devil.

"He had love. He was more my mother, father, parent, than you or Thaddeus will ever be. He loved me, and he loved the Earth."

Warlock advanced on Satan as he continued, eyes shining red, not with evil, but with the passion of a boy coming into his own. 

"He never lost sight of what was really important, and neither will I!" he yelled. 

**"YOU'RE. NOT. MY. DAD!"**

The Antichrist's voice, heartbroken, angry, human, reverberated across the fields of Megiddo. His love and grief and fury pulsated across the Earth, leaving everyone with a solemn reckoning of themselves. Estranged parents apologized to their children, greedy business owners began to treat their employees like people. 

Satan roared as he disintegrated into plumes of ash and dust.


	4. Chapter 4

Exhausted, Warlock sank to his knees, hugging himself. He had done it, he had saved his world, but at what cost? Crowley, the one who raised him, nurtured him, loved him, was gone, and no one except himself would miss him. The world didn't know what had been stolen from them. Lowering his head, the boy felt very alone. 

He sat there, on the dusty ground of Megiddo, the epicentre of the Apocalypse he averted. As the sun dipped over the horizon, Warlock mourned the loss of the only person who really cared about him. 

Darkness fell over the desert, bringing with it the nightly winds. Cold wind picked up the shattered remains of the Horsemen and Satan, and carried them off into oblivion. The debris cleared around Warlock, and the rolling storm clouds dissipated.  
Warm light shone down on the boy, illuminating his face with its ethereal glow. 

He looked up, his mouth gaping in awe and tears falling anew. There, beside the brightest light in the sky, the light Crowley had sang and told him about, was a new light.

The two lights watched over the boy, lights so close they may have been holding hands. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This AU was inspired by Ray and Evangeline from Disney's The Princess and the Frog, which is why this was written for the prompt 'Firefly.'


End file.
